Cosmetic device



1949. M. G. BATTON ETAL 2,477,921

COSMETIC DEVICE Filed Feb. 18, 1946 Illh Patented Aug. 2, 1949 OFFICE,

COSMETIC DEVICE Mary Grace Batton and Fenton E. Batton,

Brattleboro, Vt.

Application February 18, 1946, Serial No. 648,406

3 Claims.

This invention relates to cosmetic devices and more particularly to anovel device for use in the performance of manicuring and pedicuringoperations. It is a general object of the present invention to provide ananicure and pedicure kit having novel and advantageous features ofconstruction whereby the operations in question are facilitated. Morespecifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a kitcomprising a container having compartments to receive the various itemscomprising a manicure kit, such as nail polish, polish remover, and thelike,-as well as the various implements required, such as scissors,file, orange stick, etc., said container having a removable top or lidupon the upper surface of which there is provided a shaped indentationto receive and support the fingers of either hand in spaced arrangementsuitable for the manicuring operation, thus enabling the subject tomaintain his hand in proper position steadily without strain and withthe minimum of inconvenience. In an alternative form, the container topis provided with a shaped indentation to receive and support the toes ofeither foot during the pedicuring operation.

Another object is the provision of a container of the type described,having a removable top I as described above, the outline of the topbeing such as to expose at all times one or more of the compartments ofthe container, which there fore serve as wells or sockets to receive andretain the particular cosmetic bottles or containers which are beingused during the operation.

Another object is the provision of a container of the type described,having a top which is formed to provide a molded indentation havingparts adapted to receive and support the digits of either hand, therebeing seven such parts in all, namely, for the right and left thumbs,for the little fingers of the right and left hands, and three centralparts adapted to receive the second, third and fourth fingers of eitherhand.

Another object is the provision of a container of the type described,having a top formed to provide an indentation adapted to receive thedigits of either foot, there being nine parts of which the central oneis adapted to receive the large toe of either foot, the four parts oneither side of the central part being adapted to receive the toes of theright or left foot as the case may be.

Other and further objects and advantages will be apparent from thedescription which follows, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of the container of thepresent invention with the top in place;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on line 2T2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 isa fragmentary sectional view on line 3-3 of Figurel;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the container with top removed; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of an alternate form of container top, adaptedfor the pedicure operation.

In order to facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference ismade to the embodiments thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, anddetailed descriptive language is employed; It will nevertheless beunderstood that no limitation of the invention is thereby intended andthat various changes and alterations are contemplated such as wouldordinarily occur to one skilled in the art to which the inventionrelates.

Referring first to Figures 2 and 4, the container proper, which may beconstructed of any suitable material such as wood, metal or plastic,comprises side members I0, ll, [2 and i3, and a bottom member it, all ofwhich may be joined together in any suitable fashion, such as bydovetailing or screwing. It will be noted that the side members I and 12extend below the'bottom memberl4 and are provided with grooves l5 for apurpose to be described. The side members l0 and I2 are likewiseprovided with grooves 16 adjacent their upper edges to receivecorresponding flanges formed on the edges of the container .top' H,which thus has a sliding engagement with the container proper; 7

The interior of the container is provided with a plurality of partitionsto form compartments of suitable size and shape to receive the variouscosmetic items required for the manicuring and pedicuring' operations.Preferably, the compartments are so shaped as to receive the bottles orother containers in a horizontal position, that is, resting on theirsides whereby the labels are visible and the contents are preserved inbetter condition, due to the fact that the corks or other seals aremaintained in a. moist condition by the contents. Preferably one-or'moreof the interior partitions is, made adjustable in order that thedimensions of one'or more of the compartments may be varied toaccommodate cosmetic con tainers of Varying sizes. Thus, in the presentembodiment'the partitions l8 and I9 are adjustable, having slidingengagement with the grooves 20 formed in the side members and adjacentpartitions. Y The remaining partitions are fixed." Compartments 2i and22 are adapted to serve a's'vvell's or sockets to receive'the cosmeticcontainersto be used during any particular operation andgin order thatthey may be exposed for this purpose while the top I! is in place, thetop, which otherwise conforms to the shape of the container, is cut awayat its two upper corners to uncover the compartments 2| and 22, The

3 compartment 23 is adapted to receive absorbent cotton, and thepartition 24 which forms one of the walls of this compartment, is madeshorter than the distance between the adjacent partitions, to form acommunicating slot between the compartment 23 and the compartment 25.The latter is intended to receive manicuring implements such asscissors, files, and the like, and by virtue of the communicating slotbetween the compartments 23 and 25, unusually long instruments such asthe so-called professional nail files may project into the compartment23. Obviously, variations of the interior arrangement of the containermay be made to suit any particular set of requirements. Referring now toFigure 1, it will be seen that the container top I! is provided on itsupper surface with a raised portion 26 which is formed with a pluralityof indentations corresponding to the fingers of the right and left handsand a central indentation to accommodate a portion of the palm. In otherwords, the raised portion 26 bears indentations corresponding to thecombined imprints of the right and left hands of an average person. Thusthe part 2'! corresponds to the left thumb and the part 28 to the rightthumb, it being understood, of course, that the hands are placed palmdown. The part 29 corresponds to the left little finger and the part 30to the right little finger. Theparts 3|, 32 and 33 are adapted toreceive the second, third and fourth fingers of either hand.

In placing the right hand in position on the portion 26, the right thumbis placed on the part 28 and the right index finger on the part 33, thusbridging the part 29 which is not used for the right hand. This resultsin the hand being in a natural position in which the thumb isconsiderably separated from the index finger, while the other fingersare more closely spaced together. The same is true in placing the lefthand in position, the part 30 bein bridged or omitted in this case.

The indentations just described need not be deep, as it has been foundthat relatively shallow indentations serve to position the hands andmaintain the fingers in proper spaced position without strain.Similarly, the indentations need not be formed in a raised portion ofthe container top, but may be indented below the surface of the topproper, for example by molding in the case of a plastic top, or bysuitable shaping means in the case of metal or wood tops. Alternatively,the level of the bottom of the indentations may be the same as the uppersurface of the container top, the finger retaining means being formed asridges or raised portions projecting above the level of the containertop.

Referring now to Figure the member 34 com prises an alternativecontainer top, similar in size and shape to the top 11 and may be usedin place of the latter. When not so used, the top 34 is carried beneaththe bottom M of the container, in grooves IS. The top 34 is providedwith a raised portion 35 which is intended to receive the toes of eitherfoot, the central part 36 being adapted to receive the great toe ofeither foot and the remaining parts to the left and right of the part 36being adapted to receive the remaining toes of the respective feet. Theindentations for the feet may be formed in any of the several waysdescribed above in connection with the indentations for the hands. Whilethe indentations for the toes are naturally more closely spaced thanthose for the fingers, it will be noted that there is a definite ridgeprovided between adjacent toe receiving parts, whereby the toes aremaintained sufiiciently spaced apart to facilitate the pedicuringoperation.

While devices for holding the fingers during manicuring operations havebeen known heretofore, the particular arrangement of the finger and toeparts of the present invention are novel and possess definite advantagesover the prior devices, and it is obvious that such arrangement could beemployed in devices other than a container top, as for example a tabletop or other surface.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the objects setforth above are accomplished by the present invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A cosmetic device comprising a compartmented container and aremovable top therefor, said top having its upper surface formed toprovide a portion shaped to receive and support the digits of a humanextremity in spaced arrangement suitable for cosmetic treatment, saidtop being so formed as to expose at least one compartment of saidcontainer at all times.

2. A cosmetic device comprising a compartmented container and aremovable top therefor, said top having its upper surface formed toprovide a portion shaped to receive and support the digits of a humanhand in spaced arrangement suitable for cosmetic treatment, said topbeing so formed as to expose at least one compartment of said containerat all times, said portion comprising seven digit-shaped partsconsisting of right and left thumb parts, right and left little-fingerparts, and parts adapted to receive the second, third and fourth fingersof either hand.

3. A cosmetic device comprising a compartmented container and aremovable top therefor, said top having its upper surface formed topro,- vide a portion shaped to receive and support the digits of a humanfoot in spaced arrangement suitable for cosmetic treatment, said portioncomprising nine digit-shaped parts including a central part adapted toreceive the great toe of either foot.

MARY GRACE BATTON. FENTON E. BATTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,282,485 Sterling Oct. 22, 19181,641,650 Walker Sept. 6, 1927 2,020,100 Boyd Nov. 5, 1935 2,288,386Belden June 30, 1942 2,392,626 Young Jan. 8, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS NumberCountry Date 120,925 Great Britain Nov. 21, 19 19

